“A part of our corporate commitment is to be responsible stewards of all that God has entrusted to us. Because of this commitment, Chick-fil-A’s giving heritage is focused on programs that educate youth, strengthen families and enrich marriages, and support communities. We will continue to focus our giving in those areas. Our intent is not to support political or social agendas.”

Following reports that it has agreed to stop funding certain traditional family groups, Chick-fil-A released a statement Thursday, saying that for many months its corporate giving has “been mischaracterized” and that it will continue to fund programs that “strengthen and enrich marriages.”

It also received a word of support from Focus on the Family President Jim Daly, who said the company had not caved, as some had alleged

Chick-fil-A was facing a backlash after Chicago Alderman Joe Moreno and an Illinois gay activist group announced that Chick-fil-A had agreed to no longer fund groups opposed to gay marriage, such as Focus on the Family. That alleged agreement led Moreno — who had criticized Chick-fil-A during the summer for its president’s comments affirming traditional marriage — to stop blocking a new franchise from being built in his ward. In comments to the Chicago Tribune, Moreno called it a “big win.” Media stories nationwide then gave Chick-fil-A another public relations headache. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s headline read, “Chick-fil-A said to change stance.” The Los Angeles Times’ headline: “Chick-fil-A promises to stop giving money to anti-gay groups.”

The problem? Chick-fil-A’s base of support remains largely in conservative states, and those customers hardly consider Focus on the Family and other groups “anti-gay.” Many felt Chick-fil-A had caved.

Hundreds of thousands of customers took part in Chick-fil-A Appreciation this summer after company president Dan Cathy was criticized for comments supporting the biblical definition of marriage. Chick-fil-A’s stance on values is well-known. It is closed on Sundays, and its corporate statement includes the desire to “glorify God.”

In the 24 hours after the story out of Chicago broke, Chick-fil-A’s Facebook page was flooded with criticism of the new policy.

“I’m disgusted that your faith is so weak,” one person wrote. “You sure raked in the bucks on Chick Fil A day huh? So when do you start opening on Sunday? ‘As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord'”

Chick-fil-A released a statement Thursday (Sept. 20), saying that “for many months now, Chick-fil-A’s corporate giving has been mischaracterized.”

“And while our sincere intent has been to remain out of this political and social debate, events from Chicago this week have once again resulted in questions around our giving,” the statement said. “For that reason, we want to provide some context and clarity around who we are, what we believe and our priorities in relation to corporate giving.

“A part of our corporate commitment is to be responsible stewards of all that God has entrusted to us. Because of this commitment, Chick-fil-A’s giving heritage is focused on programs that educate youth, strengthen families and enrich marriages, and support communities. We will continue to focus our giving in those areas. Our intent is not to support political or social agendas.”

[Editor’s note: This article is incomplete. The source for this document was originally published on bpnews.net—however, the original URL is no longer available.]